Our Science

Persocode is built on the Big Five model of personality — the most scientifically validated framework in modern psychology.

The Big Five Model

Also known as the Five-Factor Model (FFM), the Big Five emerged from decades of research across cultures and languages. It identifies five broad dimensions that capture the most important differences between people:

1. Extraversion — How you engage with the external world (Outgoing vs. Reserved)
2. Openness — How you process new ideas and experiences (Visionary vs. Practical)
3. Agreeableness — How you approach decisions involving others (Harmony vs. Logic)
4. Conscientiousness — How you organize your life and work (Structured vs. Flexible)
5. Temperament — How you experience emotional intensity (Intense vs. Calm)

Our Test Items

Our 60 test items are derived from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), a public-domain collection of personality scales used in thousands of peer-reviewed studies worldwide. Each item has been carefully rewritten to be clear, culturally neutral, and free of jargon.

Scoring

Each trait is measured with 12 items (half positively keyed, half reversed). Your responses on a 7-point scale are converted to trait percentages. Your four-letter type code is determined by your position on the first four traits, with a suffix indicating your temperament.

16 Types, Four Families

By combining positions on Vision (Openness) and Decision (Agreeableness), we derive four personality families. Each family contains four types, for a total of 16 distinct personality profiles.